GREEN SPACE: Eliot Coleman, national organic expert, will be in Detroit June 19-20

Detroit's Garden Resource Program (GRP) is busier than ever. It works with over 800 family and community gardeners in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park by providing plants, mulch, compost -- and educational opportunities ranging from rain barrel classes to canning demos.

One such opportunity coming up this weekend might be of interest to even the non-gardener with a salient interest in healthy food systems. Some of GRP's partner orgs and friends -- Greening of Detroit, MSU Student Organic Farm, Earthworks Urban Farm and Green Ribbon Collaborative -- are bringing Eliot Coleman, author of Four Seasons Harvest and The New Organic Grower, to Detroit on June 19 and 20.

On Friday the 19th, Coleman will speak at Detroit Waldorf, located at 2555 Burns in Indian Village on the topic of Food and Farming in the 21st Century. On Saturday the 20th, he will host a four-season farming workshop at Gleaners Food Bank on 2131 Beaufait, near Earthworks. The speech is free; the all-day workshop requires registration and is proced on a sliding scale of $10 to $100.

For info and registration, contact Kido Pielack at 313-237-8733 x243.

While on the topic of food, it's worth mentioning that GRP and, again, friends and partners, facilitate the Grown in Detroit program, which allows family and community gardeners the opportunity to sell extra produce at local farmers markets. Find them at Eastern Market and the East Warren Farmers Market every Saturday, the Wayne State University Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Northwest Detroit Farmers Market on Thursdays.

Buying local is becoming really, really local.

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh